


The Queen Bee, the Jock, and the Black Cat

by deirdreshannon



Category: Nancy Drew (Video Games)
Genre: Academia, Bisexual Female Character, Boarding School, Closeted Character, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Femslash, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Game 21: Warnings at Waverly Academy, Headcanon, Lesbian Character, Roommates, Secret Relationship, nancy drew - Freeform, popular girl and jock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:40:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28890771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deirdreshannon/pseuds/deirdreshannon
Summary: Izzy Romero and Leela Yadav, Waverly Academy valedictorian candidates and roommates, decide to start secretly dating. All is well... until the Black Cat threatens to expose them.
Relationships: Izzy Romero/Leela Yadav
Kudos: 2





	1. Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> Izzy and Leela are friends-turned-enemies in Warnings at Waverly Academy, but what if their backstory is more complicated than that? Essentially, this is my headcanon for Izzy and Leela's relationship; chronologically, our story begins a few months before Nancy's arrival at Waverly, covers most of the events of the game, and ends shortly after the case is solved. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

Izzy Romero’s junior year of high school had been an undeniably good one. One might call it a year of academic stardom; she won her election for student body president, maintained her stellar 4.0 grade point average, and was designated leader of Waverly Academy’s elusive Blackwood Society. Most significantly, she was named as one of seven valedictorian candidates for the Class of 2010. Though her resumé was already impressive, she knew that becoming valedictorian would buy her a one-way ticket to Harvard, or _any_ Ivy League school, for that matter. For as long as she could remember, she had dreamed of attending Harvard, her father’s alma mater (which was also her grandfather’s alma mater, and her great-grandfather’s, you get the picture). It seemed that her dreams were finally within her grasp.

Although she didn’t know it, her senior year would prove to be more complicated. The summer prior to her final year at Waverly was tranquil, spent mainly at her family’s summer home in the Hamptons. The calm before the storm. But, in September, she traded her beach house for Waverly’s Ramsey Hall – the dorm for valedictorian candidates. As she brought her luggage into her second-floor room, she saw that Leela Yadav was already there, unpacking. She was wearing her Waverly soccer jersey and athletic shorts, as if she were game-ready at all times. The two girls had been casual friends for their first three years of boarding school; Izzy had a reverence for Leela’s ambition, one that she saw in no one at Waverly other than herself. Not to mention, Leela was much more apt to be at Waverly than Mel, Rachel, or Corine, as Izzy often remarked. Suffice it to say that Izzy’s roommate assignment was satisfactory, especially given the other possibilities.

“Hello, Leela,” Izzy greeted as she dragged one of her many suitcases into their room. “I guess we’re roomies now! You had a good summer, I presume?”

“You could say that,” Leela answered as she tucked a soccer ball under her bed. “I went to sports camp again. I’ve got to stay sharp if I want any chance at an athletic scholarship, or even valedictorian.”

“Speaking of valedictorian… Can you believe _Mel_ is in the running?” Izzy scoffed while unzipping her suitcase. She was still peeved that she had to choose Mel for the Blackwood society at the behest of its former leader, since Mel was a legacy student and therefore the closest thing to Waverly royalty. Izzy then realized that her Blackwood cloak was visible in her suitcase, so she closed it before Leela could notice. It was going to be hard to keep this whole “secret society” thing a secret from her own roommate, but for the sake of tradition, she had to try. Being the chosen leader was a great honor, and she couldn’t throw that away.

“It’s pretty curious. She hasn’t joined an extracurricular since our freshman year. You know, when we were friends,” Leela replied, pulling her mahogany hair into a high ponytail. “But Mel’s a legacy, so that’s that.”

 _Tell me about it,_ Izzy thought. Sensing that Leela was on the same wavelength as her regarding Waverly’s social scene, she decided to reach out further. “Hey, I’m going to this back-to-school party that one of the Oxborough Academy boys is throwing. _Some_ Waverly girls will probably be there, too. Wanna come with me?”

Leela stopped unpacking for a moment and turned to Izzy. “Yeah, I’m game. I don’t have practice until Tuesday, anyway.” It seemed that Leela’s mind was always focused on the next practice, the next tournament; Izzy could certainly relate, as she was usually preoccupied with her student body president duties.

At any rate, Izzy was glad that Leela had agreed to accompany her to the party, because it meant that she had a potential ally in Ramsey Hall. As Waverly’s resident “queen bee”, it was safe to say she had made a few enemies. “Great! Just don’t wear your cleats,” she joked. “They might help you on the soccer field, but they won’t get you anywhere with the Oxborough boys.” 

“Hey, I would never,” Leela laughed, indicating that Izzy’s joke had landed. Clearly, Leela understood that Izzy’s cattiness wasn’t personal, which Izzy highly appreciated. She often thought that people were too sensitive around her. “You might have to help me with all of the makeup stuff, though,” Leela added. “It’s been a while since I went to one of these parties.”

“That’s what roommates are for,” Izzy pointed out. “I promise I’ll show you before we leave for the party. But first, let’s finish unpacking.”

Izzy stayed true to her promise that evening, whipping out a makeup bag filled to the brim with high-end products. First, she started with the mascara, which she knew would accent Leela’s chocolate brown eyes.

“Okay, you know what this is, right?” Izzy asked sarcastically, holding up the sparkly gold mascara tube. Leela rolled her eyes, indicating that she obviously did know. “I’m going to put it on for you. Just hold still.”

“Wait, what? You’ll poke my eye out!” Leela protested.

“No, I won’t. Just trust me,” Izzy urged Leela. She took the cap off the tube and moved it slowly towards Leela’s eye, resting her hand on Leela’s cheek to keep it from shaking. Izzy noticed how surprisingly soft her skin was, but the thought was fleeting; she quickly reminded herself of the cute Oxborough boys she’d get to choose from tonight. She didn’t stop applying the mascara until Leela’s lashes were coated with black.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Izzy said. “Okay, now for the lip gloss, the blush, let me think… What else?”

“There’s more?” Leela groaned. “How do you have _time_ for this every day?”

Izzy shrugged. “Hey, appearance is everything. Especially when you’re the student body president. People are looking at me all the time, so I might as well give them a show.”

“Congrats on winning your student body election, by the way. I voted for you, you know,” Leela said, smiling. The compliment made Izzy feel warm inside; she wasn’t fond of a _lot_ of people at Waverly, but she imagined that Leela could become a great friend of hers.

After Izzy had given Leela a full makeover, she slipped on a strappy little black dress and some wedge heels. She left her hair in its curly state, deciding that its perfect messiness brought a certain allure to her look. As if she were trying _just_ hard enough.

When Izzy and Leela arrived at the house party, hosted by Jacob Pryce from Oxborough Academy, it was already in full swing. EDM blared from the speakers as dozens of drunk teenagers stumbled along to the rhythm. Izzy hated being sober for too long at parties like this, so she equipped Leela and herself with drinks and joined the cluster of people in Jacob’s colossal living room. _This is like, a mansion,_ Izzy thought. _Even my house isn’t this big._

“This house is huge!” Leela shouted over the music, echoing Izzy’s thoughts. “Jacob must be enjoying Daddy’s money, huh?”

“Go ask him,” Izzy yelled back, still dancing. “He’s over there.” She pointed to the other side of the giant living room, where Jacob stood laughing with some meaty frat-looking dudes. 

“What? I could never!” Leela dismissed quickly, then shrugged. “Okay, maybe after I drink some of this ‘liquid courage’.” She gulped the contents of her red cup, wincing, as if trying to speedrun her own inebriation. She then mouthed “wish me luck” to Izzy and made her way toward Jacob.

Izzy followed Leela’s lead and downed the remainder of her red cup’s alcohol as well. She wished she hadn’t told Leela to talk to Jacob — she had been enjoying Leela’s company so far, and didn’t want it to end. Which scared her, quite frankly, because she hadn’t wanted to be friends with anyone in a long time. _Actually_ friends. Not just some acquaintance who she interacted with transactionally in order to win class president, for example.

The strobe lights and the loud chatter of the party, especially when combined with the alcohol, were beginning to give Izzy a headache. She scanned the room and noticed that Leela and Jacob weren’t there; he had probably already made his move on her. Izzy needed to gather her thoughts, so she hunkered down in one of the mansion’s many bedrooms. Thankfully, no one was canoodling on the bed when she opened the door, so she kicked off her shoes and sat down.

 _What’s wrong with me?_ Izzy fretted. _I should be in that living room, mingling with Oxborough’s most eligible. Instead, I’m sitting alone, thinking about my roommate. Why should I care who she’s hooking up with?_ She put her head in her hands, trying to escape her frantic thoughts. She stayed like that for who knows how long, until she was interrupted by the sounds of someone vigorously fiddling with the doorknob. 

Leela nearly tripped into the room after opening the door. “Izzy, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” She exclaimed, giggling a bit, obviously drunker than the last time Izzy had seen her. “Silly me, I couldn’t open the door.” 

Izzy sat up, smoothing her black dress down. “What about Jacob?” She tried not to sound too invested, but regardless, Leela was too intoxicated to notice.

“What about him? I got his number, or something, but then I told him I wanted to go find you,” Leela said, still giggling. “And... here I am!” She flopped down on the bed, next to Izzy. “Ugh, the walls are spinning.”

“How’d you get so wasted already?” Izzy laughed, and laid down so that she was level with Leela. “Can’t hold your alcohol?”

“I'm not wasted. And, um, I _can!_ I could probably act sober right now if I wanted to,” Leela asserted. She immediately laughed, aware of how false that statement was.

‘Uh-huh, sure,” Izzy replied dubiously, rolling her eyes. Leela turned over so that she could face Izzy; both girls were silent for a minute as they laid on the bed’s fluffy white comforter.

“Can I kiss you?” Leela finally asked. Izzy raised her eyebrow; she was surprised, but not unhappy with the proposition. “If you don’t want to, then I’m drunk and you should forget I ever asked. But, if you _do_ want to—” Leela trailed off.

Izzy interrupted Leela with a kiss. An honest kiss, that blurred the edges of the world, that made everything peripheral but the two of them. Leela reciprocated immediately, cupping Izzy’s cheek and wrapping one leg around her. Izzy, however, thought of the horror of someone walking in and finding them like that, so she pulled away quickly. It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to kiss Leela — but it was 2009, and the students and staff at Waverly weren’t particularly accepting.

“What’s wrong?” Leela asked, concerned. “I’m sorry… I didn’t…”

“No, it’s not you,” Izzy reassured her, sitting up. “I just was afraid someone would come in. The door doesn’t have a lock.” She glanced at the door, imagining the possibilities. It would only take one person to spread a rumor that could destroy her social life, and even her chance at valedictorian. “I want to do this somewhere else.”

“Oh.” Leela sighed, relieved that Izzy still liked her. “Where?”

“Well, we have a whole room to ourselves back at Ramsey,” Izzy suggested, grinning.

“I’m game if you are.”


	2. Not Just Roommates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leela and Izzy decide to continue their relationship; little do they know, their secret has already been compromised.

Leela Yadav was born with a competitive spirit like no other. Perhaps to a fault, but she didn’t see it that way. Competitive spirit led her soccer _and_ basketball teams to victory in their respective state championships. Competitive spirit made her a valedictorian candidate. And competitive spirit would push her over the edge in the valedictorian race. There was no time for distractions; she knew she had to win. Izzy Romero, however, probably qualified as a distraction.

When Leela was friends with Mel Corbalis, Mel would complain about Izzy’s “mean girl” schtick _ad nauseum_. “If you’re going to be that mean, at least be funny,” Mel would say. “She’s just annoying.” 

Leela would occasionally protest — Izzy couldn’t be _that_ bad, she thought. Regardless, by the time sophomore year rolled around, Leela and Mel barely spoke. The whole situation still made Leela uneasy; it was freshman year, and the two of them were studying for winter finals in Mel’s room. Mel made a move on Leela, who awkwardly pushed Mel away, declaring that she “only liked boys” (which wasn’t true at all). They never talked about it again, but the way that kissing Mel made Leela feel… It awoke something in her, and that made her uncomfortable. She started to spend more and more time with the soccer girls, until she had cut Mel out of her life entirely. That way, she wouldn’t have to think about her feelings, of which she _knew_ her parents and friends would disapprove. In hindsight, Leela felt terrible for abandoning Mel, but going to one of the country’s most elite boarding schools was a game of survival.

After that day with Mel, Leela knew something about her was different; alas, pouring herself into her academics and athletics was her coping mechanism. It was also a great excuse for why she couldn’t date boys, although she still tried to convince herself that she was fully hetero until age 16. At any rate, Leela was not going to date in high school — too complicated. Then Izzy Romero walked into their dorm room on the day before senior year, and all of Leela’s plans were wrecked.

It wasn’t until the morning after Jacob Pryce’s party, as Leela laid in Izzy’s arms in the dorm, that she realized the gravity of what had happened. The memories were fuzzy, but they slowly resurfaced in Leela’s mind. Izzy and Leela kissed at the party, then they snuck back to Ramsey Hall at 2am. They hadn’t slept together, but they did make out for a _long_ time in their room. And, just like that, it was 7:45am and nearly time for Leela’s first class of the year.

“Shit,” Leela mumbled, stumbling out of bed. Izzy stirred, but didn’t wake; she mentioned the night prior that her first class wasn’t until 9:00. Leela was glad that they didn’t have time for a heart-to-heart, because she truly didn’t know what she would say. So, Leela quickly raked a brush through her long brown hair, threw on her Waverly uniform, and nearly barreled through the door. She couldn’t be late on her _first day back_ ; one tardy could blow her chances at valedictorian. Luckily, she made it to AP Computer Science with a minute to spare.

As Leela sat behind a computer, she contemplated the last 24 hours. _What does this mean for Izzy and me?_ she thought frantically. _What if last night meant nothing to her? What if people find out that we’re, you know…_ She couldn’t even finish that thought. This all had to remain a secret.

At that moment, Leela received a text on her phone. She covertly pulled it out of her bag, lest it be from Izzy. Indeed, it was: _Meet me in the visitor parking lot in 45,_ it read. No further explanation was given. Leela’s heart began to pound, her emotions a mix of anticipation and anxiety. Maybe Izzy _was_ a distraction, but Leela didn’t want to lose her. Not to mention, that would make for an awkward year.

Leela worried her way through the rest of AP Computer Science, not making much progress on the code she assigned. When the bell rung, signaling the end of class, she was the first one out the door. Vigorously, she walked to the parking lot, knowing that there wasn’t much time before her next class. 

The lot was vacant, except for Izzy, who was sitting on a bench. A slight wind mussed her straightened hair. Leela looked around, checking that no one else was present, before sitting with Izzy.

“Hi, Leela,” Izzy said shyly. “Thanks for meeting me here. I know we both have class in a few minutes, but I just wanted to talk about last night.” She pushed a tendril of hair out of her eyes.

“Yeah, me too,” Leela replied. “I’m sorry if I came on too strong. I normally don’t—”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Izzy interrupted, smiling. “I had fun last night. And, if you want to, I’d like to continue this… I don’t really know what to call it. Even if it’s just our little secret. We do have our own room, after all.”

“I’d really like that,” Leela agreed. Though she didn’t know where it would lead her, she knew that this was a secret she could keep. “Izzy and Leela against the world, huh? Or, Ramsey Hall, at least.”

“ _Friends_ ‘till the end,” Izzy joked, then drew Leela in for a kiss. Whatever they were, they certainly weren’t friends. After a moment, Izzy pulled away. “I’m going to be late to Latin.”

“And I’m going to be late to Psych. I’ll see you at the end of the day, right?” Leela asked.

“Of course,” Izzy reassured her. Izzy held Leela’s hand as they walked out of the empty parking lot, but dropped it quickly before anyone could see. It disheartened Leela that no one could know about the two of them, but she knew it was for the best.

Except, someone _did_ know. Someone had watched them in the parking lot. Someone who would later terrorize Waverly Academy.

The next month was peaceful, though. Leela and Izzy would meet in that parking lot each week, on stolen time. Otherwise, they were completely separate entities during the school day and their extracurriculars... until they returned to Ramsey Hall. Their shared room was a haven, where they could just _be_. Each night, they’d lie in each other’s embrace, their silent way of saying “I love you”. There, they were Leela and Izzy, not Waverly’s resident queen bee and jock. 

Early October was when everything changed. One night, Leela, Izzy, Mel, Danielle Hayes, and Megan Vargas met in Ramsey Hall’s rec room to watch _Attorney/General_ , a ridiculous soap opera starring a hunky lawyer who was also a four star general. Both Izzy and Megan were huge fans of the campy show, so the other girls decided to watch with them. Besides, Danielle had just received some creepy note from the “Black Cat”, and needed a distraction. None of the girls were giving the note too much thought; it must’ve just been a prank.

Leela took her spot next to Izzy on the rec room couch, and Mel made some remark about what good friends they were becoming. Leela shot her a glare; _does she know something?_ she thought frantically. If Mel was aware of Leela’s relationship with Izzy, Leela hoped that she would at least keep quiet about it. 

Megan dimmed the lights as the show started. Leela realized that, in the darkness, nobody would notice if she held Izzy’s hand. So, subtly, she began to intertwine her fingers with Izzy’s, and could feel Izzy smiling next to her. Keeping _them_ a secret had been a challenge, but she lived for moments like this. Izzy was her girl, even if only they knew it. At least, that’s what Leela thought.

When the show was over and the girls headed up to their room on the second floor, they noticed that the door was slightly ajar. “That’s weird, didn’t I lock it behind me when we left?” Izzy asked. Leela nodded, then noticed the note on the desk.

“What’s this?” Leela asked innocently, not yet reading the note. Izzy glimpsed at it, then snatched it from the desk angrily.

“It says… ‘I know you’re not just roommates. Leave now, or I’ll let the cat out of the bag.’ Signed, ‘The Black Cat’.” Izzy slowly glanced at Leela, realizing the nature of the note.

“So, someone...” Leela couldn’t get the words out. “Someone knows about us?” Her stomach dropped as her potential future flashed before her eyes. _Everyone_ could find out now. It would only take one person to spill the beans. She paced around the room, trying to figure out what to do.

“We can’t let anyone else at Waverly find out what this note said,” Izzy whispered. “I’ll burn it. We’ll tell everyone we got a note, but that it said to leave Waverly.” Leela was too shaken to argue; she handed Izzy a lighter and watched as the flames engulfed the paper.

Unfortunately, she knew that their secret hadn’t been turned to ashes; the Black Cat _knew._


	3. Beard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izzy has a plan to protect her and Leela from the Black Cat's threats — and it involves Jacob Pryce.

Clearly, the Black Cat was here to stay.

Two incidents in October dominated all conversations at Waverly. First, the claustrophobe Danielle Hayes was locked in a closet overnight; the experience was so ghastly that she packed her bags for good. Second, Megan Vargas had a life-threatening allergic reaction and was forced to leave Waverly to recover. The common denominator? Both of them received two notes from the Black Cat. 

The dire nature of the note that Izzy and Leela received was becoming more and more apparent. Getting a second note wouldn’t mean they’d be locked in a closet — instead, they’d be forced out of it.

Izzy couldn’t help but wonder if the Black Cat knew about more than one of her secrets; the mystery saboteur _had_ been inside of her room, after all. Maybe she (Izzy assumed the Black Cat was a girl) knew about Izzy being the leader of the Blackwood Society, too. Speaking of which, Izzy remembered that she needed to coordinate the society’s October meeting soon; however, her thoughts quickly returned to the present issue at hand. She and Leela were in imminent danger of being outed.

“I just don’t know how the Black Cat found out,” Leela whispered to Izzy while they were in the safety of their own dorm room. “We’ve been careful, right?”

Nervously twirling her hair around one finger, Izzy racked her brain for possible flaws in her and Leela’s plan to see each other secretly. She then realized the answer was obvious. “Parking lot,” she uttered. “We meet in the parking lot every week. I didn’t think anyone would see us, but I guess someone did—”

“Wait, do you think they have proof?” Leela blurted in a panic. “We’ve kissed in that parking lot, _multiple times_. The Black Cat probably has pictures. We’re screwed.” She sighed, imagining her parents’ disappointment when they inevitably found out about her and Izzy. 

“No, there’s got to be a way to get out of this,” Izzy declared, refusing to throw in the towel now. She began to concoct a scheme, albeit a somewhat extreme one, to save her and Izzy from the Black Cat’s threats. “How far are you willing to go to make sure the Black Cat can’t use this information against us?”

“Pretty far,” Leela replied firmly. “As long as you’re not suggesting we actually leave Waverly, like the Black Cat wants. I’ve worked too hard for that.”  
“Of course not. I wouldn’t give up my student body presidency for _anything_ ,” Izzy reassured her. “Okay, so, you still have Jacob Pryce’s number. Right?”

“...Yes?” Leela mumbled tentatively.

“Date him,” Izzy implored. “I mean, not _really_ , since you’ll still be with me, but don’t tell him that. It’s the only way to throw suspicion off of us, and to render the Black Cat’s ‘intel’ useless.”

“Come on, you’re messing with me,” Leela chuckled, brushing off the idea. “I never liked Jacob. I like _you_ . Plus, if the Black Cat _does_ have some sort of picture of us kissing, how will dating a guy disprove it?”

“Like I said, you won’t _really_ be dating him. Just string him along a bit. And as for the photos, we’ll just say that I was whispering in your ear, and that the picture was just taken at a bad angle,” Izzy tried to convince Leela. She still seemed unsure. “C’mon, it’ll be fun! Haven’t you always wanted a beard?” Izzy joked. “I’ll get one too, if you want. It wouldn’t be hard to find—”

“No, you don’t have to get a beard,” Leela interjected. “I’ll do it. And while I’m not crazy about the idea… I have nothing better.” Leela crossed her arms in frustration. “We need to set some ground rules, though.”

“Of course,” Izzy responded, touching Leela’s arm to mollify her. She wasn’t entirely sure about the plan herself, but she didn’t want to retract it now. “All I ask is that you don’t sleep with him, and we’ll be fine.”

“You’re okay if I… kiss him?” Leela asked incredulously. Maybe Izzy wasn’t the jealous type, or maybe she was good at hiding it. Regardless, Leela had her own reservations about having to be with Jacob in any sort of physical sense; she didn’t yet know if she was attracted to guys, but she really couldn’t picture herself kissing anyone other than Izzy.

“I don’t _like_ it, but it won’t be a very convincing relationship if you don’t kiss him,” Izzy pointed out. “Unless you want him to be in on the plan, but that could majorly backfire.”

“Alright, then… It’s settled. I need to ask out Jacob Pryce,” Leela declared. She was still uneasy about the idea, but she decided that she had to do this. If not for herself, then for Izzy.

— —

The plan was already in motion. Just a few days after its initial conception, Leela and Jacob were already on a dinner date at some Italian restaurant. Izzy took the liberty of sending an anonymous text about it to the whole of Waverly’s student body, describing it as a “budding relationship”. Izzy imagined the pair holding hands over the breadsticks; the mental picture made her queasy. She was _definitely_ the jealous type, but she still wasn’t going to admit that to Leela. _Damn the Black Cat for making me come up with this stupid scheme in the first place,_ Izzy thought angrily. _But I guess it’s beard or get outed._ She briefly entertained the idea of saying “fuck it” and coming out, but quickly shut it down. Firstly, her and Leela’s parents wouldn’t be thrilled; secondly, she might lose the empire that she had built at Waverly. Izzy wouldn’t put it past some of the Student Council girls to try and oust her from her presidential spot; though she was undeniably popular, people at Waverly were fickle. Whether they were really homophobic or not, some girls would take any chance to pad their resumés.

At any rate, Izzy had to cease worrying; she had to prepare for a Blackwood meeting that would take place in a few hours. It was a nice distraction, though she was still miffed about Mel’s involvement. She wondered if Mel and the five other members had any idea that she was the leader, and hoped that if they didn’t, it stayed that way. She didn’t want to invoke the Blackwood curse, even if it was likely a hoax. Besides, now that her and Leela’s relationship was at risk of being exposed, it was nice to have _something_ all to herself. A secret that no one knew about — so far, Izzy assumed that the Black Cat didn’t actually know, because she probably would’ve mentioned it in their warning note.

Later that night, Izzy slipped on her Blackwood cloak in preparation for the meeting, which would take place under the old oak tree. Though it was nearly 1:00am, Leela wasn’t back yet; she had texted Izzy that she would be hanging out with Jacob and a few of his friends at his house. This made it easy for Izzy to sneak out of her window, unnoticed. She knew she had to tell Leela about Blackwood sooner or later, but was hesitant to do so. What if Leela wanted to come to the meetings? Not only would that break every Blackwood rule, but then the other members would start bringing guests too, and the secret (along with Izzy’s reputation, probably) would be blown. For now, Izzy resolved that she would still keep it to herself, though she felt a bit guilty.

The meeting itself was typical, yet still ominous; Izzy felt powerful each time she whispered the Blackwood chant, veiled by her cloak and the night air surrounding her. The thrill was short-lived, though, because the meeting lasted but a few minutes. Izzy discreetly made her way back to her room, looking over her shoulder a dozen times to make sure that no one was watching her. The whole Black Cat thing really was starting to heighten her paranoia.

Izzy was laying in her bed, listening to music on her iPod, when Leela finally came back from Jacob’s place. 

“Well, how’d it go?” Izzy inquired, immediately regretting it. She braced herself, hoping that Leela would spare her the gory details of her and Jacob’s “romance”. It wasn’t real for Leela, but it _was_ real for Jacob, and Izzy hated that she was jealous of that greasy rich boy.

“Fine,” Leela answered nonchalantly. “He’s nice, at least. We didn’t really _do_ much, but what’s important is that people _think_ we did, right?”

“Exactly.” Izzy silently rejoiced; it sounded like Leela and Jacob hadn’t even kissed yet. She knew she’d have to deal with her envy later on, but at least things were relatively tame now. “Good luck, Black Cat.”

Leela flopped onto the bed next to Izzy, kicking off her shoes. “I was thinking of you the whole date, you know.”

Izzy smirked at this, raising an eyebrow. “So, what you’re saying is that you’ve got it bad for me?” she teased.

“Looks like it,” Leela replied, chuckling. She then made direct eye contact with her girlfriend, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to resist her temptations. “I know it’s late, but I’m not too tired, if you wanna...”

“As long as you promise to be quiet,” Izzy said provocatively. “Wouldn’t want to wake everyone in Ramsey up.”

—

“What’s this?” The sound of Leela’s voice woke Izzy up the next morning. She sat up, still groggy, and rubbed her eyes.

“I don’t know, what?” Izzy slowly began to realize what sight was in front of her; her stomach dropped as the guilt quickly rushed in.

Leela was holding up the Blackwood cloak.


End file.
